Buoy



M. KURTZ July 12, 1960 BUOY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 8, 1958 INVENTOR. MARK KURTZ /3. C. ATTORNEYS.

2 Sheets-s 2 FIG. 4

INVENTOR MARK KURTZ M AT ORNEYS.

BUoY

Mark Kurtz, Washington, n.0, assignnr to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy p Filed July 8, 1958, Ser. No. 747,319

i 1 Claim. c1, 9+8) (Granted under Title 35, us. Code 1952), see. 266) Theinvention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of theUnited States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor. V

This invention relates to a Dan buoy and more particularly to the combination ofia Dan buoy, a; mooring reel and an anchormovably' attached to said reel.

In carrying out mine sweeping operations it is necessary to provide buoys that are'adapted to be quickly launched from a mine sweep'vessel or the like for the purposes of clearly marking those channels that have already been swept of mines. Marker buoys, or Dan buoys as they are more commonly known, have long been used for such purposes. However, those Dan buoys used in the past'for the foregoing purpose have not proven to be completely satisfactory; such'boys frequently consist of a buoyancy member having a downwardly extending pipe member having at its lower-end a' counterweight for purposesof lending stability to the buoy. The prior art devices in accordance with general practice, further include an anchor member suspended from the buoy by means of a length of mooring wire having one end aifixed to the buoy and the other end fixed to the anchor. Most prior art devices have proven to be unsatisfactory for various reasons. For example, most of the prior art ice scoped within the buoyancy chamber, thereby providing a means for making the overall buoy structure much more compact, prior to launching, than has been possible in the past.

It is an object of this invention to provide a buoy that overcomes the disadvantages set forth above.

A further object of this invention is to provide a buoy of compact construction requiring a minimum amount of storage space yet expansible to its full dimensions upon being launched into the 'water.

Still another objetof the invention is to providea buoy having an anchor block attached thereto, 'with a combination mooring wire storage means and buoy counterweight 7 Still a further object of this invention is to provide a buoy adapted to be launched from mine tracks aboard a ship.

Still'anoth'er object of thisir'iventi'on is to provide a buoy having collapsible elements whereby the b'uoy is adapted to be rendered compact for storage purposes.

Still an'ad'dcd object of this-invention is 'to provide a combination buoy and buoy anchor "means having a mooring wire extending from said anchor means to said buo "and having 'a'rnooring wire storage means ad'aptedto'be retrieved along With said buoy.

Other objects and advantages 'of'this irivehtio'n will appear in the following description and in the accompany ingdrawings whereinfl i Fig. 1 is an elevational view 'ofthe instant buoy and anchor assembly in tare-launching, contracted condition;

Fig. '2 is an elevational view, in section and partially I broken away, of the instant buoy mooring 'wire storage buoys have failed to provide a satisfactory, mooring wire the buoy excessively long, thereby requiring excessive amounts of storage space onboard ship, and makes the launching and handling of'suchbuoys extremely cumber-v some. Inasmuch as the prior-art buoys are extremely long and cumbersome they are therefore difficult to store and also diflicult to launch and the need has long been means in expanded conditio'm,

Fig. 3 is a view of the quick release anchor retaining mechanism in partially open position; and

Fig. 4 is an elevational view, partially broken away, of the instant buoy, anchor and mooringwire retaining means, in fully expanded condition showing-the'relative position of the elements in the water. 1 Referring tothe drawings wherein like reference characters :de'signate' like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shown in Fig. l axbuoy assembly. 10 produced in accordance with this ihvention. The buoy assembly 10 comprises a buoyancy. cliarhberslfl having a mooring wire reel '14 attached to the lower end thereof infa movable condition relative thereto, in the manner hereinafter set forth.

Ari anchor block 16, made of concrete or the like, is

I attached to one endof a mooring wire 18 on'the reel 14,

felt for a buoy of compact construction that can be stored upon conventional mine tracks aboard a ship such as those used for launching mines of various types whereby the marker. buoys may be rapidly launched from the ship at fairly brief intervals of time as is frequently required in mine sweeping operations;

Inaccordance with the instant invention, a Dan buoy is provided having a buoyancy chamber, and a pipe, hereinafter referred to as a counterweight pipe, telescopically mounted therein and adaptedto drop downwardly therefrom when the buoy is launched. A mooringwirejreel is fixedly attached to the lower end of the counterweight pipe and carries a supply of mooring-wire having one end attached to a concrete anchor block. The mooring reel acts not only as a wire storage means, but also as a buoycounterweight whenthe entire assembly is in the water, thus there is no need to provide the buoy with 7 both a mooring reel and an anchor. The instan'tbuoy is'also provided with suitablelatch means adapted, prior to launching, to hold manner in close relation with the buoyancy chamber, with the counterweight pipe teleand is detachably connected to the'buoyancychamber'll.

The chamber 12 is a hollow tank-like 'rnei'nber, preferably cylindrical in shape, and -'in accordance with'one An'annular cap 24 is fixedly connected to the upper end or the tube 20, by welding or the like.

The mooring reel 14 is'fixedly attached to a'pipeg-fi-fi, hereinafter referred to as a counterweight'pipe, by means of a plurality of bolts '28 threaded'into cooperating fianges 30 and 32 fixedly mounted on the counterweightfpi-pe and the =reel respectively. In retracted position the. reel-1 L abuts the lower surface ofiacylindricalmemberlfidfixedly mounted on the lower end of the chamber 12, by

welding or the like. In order to prevent the counterweight pipe 26 from dropping completely out of the tube 20, the counterweight pipe is provided with a stop ring 36 fixedly mounted thereon adjacent its uppermost end, whereby when the counterweight pipe 26 drops outward 1y of the tube 20, the stop ring 36 abuts the stop ring 22 aflixed to the interior of the tube 20. The counterweight pipe 26 is provided with a second ring 33 fixedly mounted on the exterior thereof adjacent the uppermost end, said upper ring 38 and the lower ring 36 combining to act as a guide for the counterweight pipe 26 in its movement through the tube 20.

A short length of pipe, hereinafter referred to as a flagstatf holder "40, extends through the upper end of the tube 20 and through the opening in the upper cap 24, being fixedly attached to said cap by welding or the like. The fiagstatt holder 40 has a guide ring 42 fixedly attached to its lower end for purposes of centering the same within the tube 20. In addition, the flagstafi" holder is provided with a pair of spaced holes 44 extending through the walls thereof at diametrically opposed points for the purposes of receiving a pair of retaining pins 46. The pins 46 are attached to the end of a pair of wires that are tied onto the exterior of the tube 20. A flagstafl 48 is slidably mounted within the flagstafi holder 40 and is adapted to slide to a retracted position within the tube 20 and also within the counterweight pipe 26, as shown in Fig. 1. The fiagstafi is provided with a pair of holes extending therethrough and adapted to be aligned with the holes 44 in the fiagstaif holder 40, all of said holes being adapted to receive the retaining pins 46 for purposes of retaining the flagstafi in an extended position, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. In addition the flagstaff '48 is provided with an exterior, fixedly mounted sleeve 50 at its lower end for purposes of preventing movement of said flagstafi completely out of the flagstafi holder 40.

The buoyancy chamber 12 has a pair of turnbuckles 52 connected to its outer surface, adjacent its lower end. Each of the turnbuckles 52 has a quick release hook 54 attached to its lower end, said quick release hook being adapted to cooperate with the concrete anchor block 16. Each of the quick release hooks 54 has an angular arm 56 pivotly connected to its lower end, and adapted to move from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 3. In locked position the angular arm 56 is maintained against movement in a downward direction by means of a pivotly mounted bifurcated arm 58 having one end pivotly connected to the body of the turnbuckleand having at its opposite end an eye portion adapted to receive a releasing cable 60. The respective locking members 58 are retained in locked position relative to the quick release hook by means of a safety pin 62 extending through aligned holes formed in the respective locking members 58 and the respective angular arms, as

56 shown in Fig. 1.

The respective launching cables 60 extend upwardly through respective guide members 64 fixedly mounted on the exterior of the chamber member 12 and come together, through a guide member 66 adjacent the upper end of the chamber 12. A length of lanyard 68 is connected to the upper end of the launching cables 60 and is adapted to be pulled when the device is launched, in a manner hereinafter described.

The anchor block 16 is provided with a ring member 70 imbedded in said concrete and has a plurality of chain links 72 connected thereto and extending upwardly therefrom. The chain links 72 are fixedly connected to the free end of the mooring wire 18 wound on the mooring reel 14. The upper surface of the anchor block 16 is preferably provided with a recess portion into which a seating plate 74 on the mooring reel 14 is adapted to rest when the assembly is in pre-launching condition. The anchor block 16 is held connected to the buoy member 12 by means of a pair of retaining rings 76, each of which has its opposite ends imbedded in thev concrete t anchor 16, and has a bight portion extending over the upper portion of the angular arm 56 on the release hook 54, in the manner shown in Fig. l.

The anchor block 16 is further provided with a set of wheels 77 mounted on the lower surface thereof, said wheels being adapted to cooperate with conventional mine launching tracks aboard a ship or the like, whereby the entire apparatus may be rolled overboard during launching.

Concerning the mooring reel 14, it is pointed out that said reel may take any number of forms, as for example it may be a completely free moving reel adapted to release an indeterminate amount of anchor wire 18. On the other hand, and in accordance with the preferred embodiment of this invention, the mooring reel 14 is of an automatic type, that is, it can be preset to release a predetermined amount of anchor wire, depending of course upon the depth of water into which the apparatus is launched. This latter type reel is the type shown in Fig. 4, and is provided with an indicator member 78 adapted to be manually set prior to launching, for the amount of mooring wire to be released.

In launching the apparatus, the safety pins 62 are removed from the retaining arm 58 and the angular lever member 56 either by manual means or by being sheared upon a strong upward pull on the lanyard 68. Upward movement of the lanyard 63 of course results in upward movement of the cables 66. Upon upward movement of the cables 69, the retaining arms 58 are both pulled upwardly to the position shown in Fig. 3. The assembly is then rolled along suitable mine launching tracks and allowed to drop overboard, at which time and upon striking the water, the weight of the anchor block 16 pulls downwardly on the retaining fingers 56 to the position shown in Fig. 3, thereby allowing the anchor block 16 to fall free of the remainder of the apparatus and sink to the bottom taking with it a length of mooring wire 18. As the anchor block 16 is released from the apparatus, the mooring wire assembly, including the mooring reel 14 and the counterweight pipe 26 drop downwardly by force of gravity to the position shown in Figs. 2 and 4, being stopped in their downward movement by the interaction of stop rings 22 and 36. The anchor block of course continues to drop downwardly in the water until a predetermined amount of mooring wire 13 has been allowed to pay-off the reel 14, at which time suitable braking means in the reel stops further downward movement of the anchor block.

It should be noted that prior to launching of the buoy, the flagstaff 4-8 is drawn upwardly through the flagstaff holder 40 until the spaced holes in said flagstafi are in alignment with the holes 44 in the holder 40 at which time the retaining pins 46 are inserted into said holes in the manner shown in Fig. 2, thereby retaining the flagstafi in a raised position.

It is emphasized that the structure described above, not only provides a buoy arrangement that is compact for purposes of storage aboard a ship and for. convenience of launching, but also, by virtue of the combination of the mooring reel 14 with the counterweight pipe 26, it also provides a means for retaining the mooring reel in close proximity with the buoy 12 after launching, thereby making it possible to retrieve the mooring reel as well as the buoy. The anchor block 16 is conventionally considered expendable and is not intended to be retrieved, thus it is highly desirable to retain the expensive mooring reel in such a structural arrangement with the buoy that it too along with the buoy may be retrieved. It is also pointed out, and strongly emphasized that the mooring reel 14 serves not only as a holder for the mooring wire 18, but also, by virtue of its weight which may run in the neighborhood of 200 pounds including the weight of the anchor line 18, it also serves as a counterweight for the buoy thereby aiding in lending stability to the buoy. The mooring reel as a counterweight, lends stability to matic one broadly referred to above.

the device by virtue of the fact that it is axially alined with the center of the buoyancy chamber 12, and is mounted at a substantial distance beneath the same, as shown in Fig. 4 wherein the elements are shown in their relative positions while floating in water. n

Thus the applicant by virtue of his invention as described above, has provided a marker buoy assembly having the virtues of being relatively simple in construction, and adapted to be rendered extremely compact prior to launching thereof. The applicants invention also eliminates the need for the use of a separate counterweight attached to a counterweight pipe extending beneath the buoy, by virtue of his utilization of 'a mooring reel as a counterweight.

It is further pointed out that the instant apparatus provides a means including the quick release mechanism 54, for fool proof and rapid launching of the buoy, from either mine tracks on a ship or from a boom aboard a ship. With the exception of the flagstafi 48, there is no necessity for extending the various elements to their full length before launching of the apparatus inasmuch as gravity serves to carry out this operation after the release 54 is actuated and falls in the water.

Obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. As for example it is possible to substitute anchor members of construction other than concrete, and of course, the buoyancy chamber 12 may take various shapes other than a cylindrical one and may also have various ratios of diameter to height. Furthermore, as pointed out above, various types of mooring reels may be used other than the auto- It is therefore to be understood that Within the scope of the appended claim, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

A buoy assembly comprising, a buoyancy chamber,

a tubular member extending axially of said buoyancy chamber and intersecting the opposite ends thereof, said tubular member being fixedly connected to said buoyancy chamber, a counterweight pipe telescopically mounted within said tubular member and adapted to move downwardly thereof to a position outward of said buoyancy chamber, stop means for arresting outward movement of said counterweight pipe, a mooring wire reel fixedly attached to the lower end of said counterweight pipe to serve as both a wire storage means and a counterweight, a length of mooring wire wound on said mooring reel, an anchor block fixedly attached to the free end of said mooring wire, a latch means for selectively maintaining said anchor block in direct surface contact with the lower end of said mooring reel and maintaining the mooring reel and counterweight pipe in retracted position relative to said buoyancy chamber, whereby saidbuoy assembly has substantially less vertical height prior to release of said latch means than after release thereof and subsequent launching of the assembly, and a plurality of wheels on the lower side of said anchor block whereby the entire buoy assembly may be'rolled about prior to launching from a ship.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 849,362 Beebe Apr. 9, 1907 1,091,860 Miner Mar. 31, 1914 1,220,825 Giera Mar. 27, 1917 1,339,321 Crouch May 4, 1920 2,310,017 Canon et al Feb. 2, 1943 2,819,476 Dodge Jan. 14, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 540,697 France Apr. 21, 1922 

